This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7371 of prior PCT International Application No. PCT/FI98/00207 which has an International filing date of Mar. 6, 1998 which designated the United States of America, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a procedure and to an apparatus for installing an elevator.
The installation of a elevator is a critical stage in a building project. The elevator must be available for use as early as possible during the construction period. The elevator should function at this stage in the same way as it will in a finished building, and e.g. the safety equipment must be in operation. On the other hand, the elevator should be installed as quickly as possible without causing disturbances in other construction work. Special installations intended for the installation and construction period should be kept to a minimum and the elevator should be directly installed in its final form to avoid the need for later adjustments and trimming. The elevator must be installed quickly and economically. Additional features to the standard requirements are encountered in the installation of an elevator without machine room, in which all the shaft equipment must be mainly installed in the shaft space.
The object of the present invention is to create a new and economical solution for the installation of an elevator. To achieve this, the procedure of the invention comprises the steps fixing at least one suspension element to an upper part of the elevator shaft; placing a suspension device on the at least one suspension element, the suspension device supports equipment during the installation procedure; providing a hoisting device on the suspension device; and supporting an elevator car by the hoisting device in the elevator shaft, the elevator car being used during the installing procedure. The apparatus of the invention is comprises a suspension element, the suspension element being attachable to a ceiling of an elevator shaft or an upper part of a wall of the elevator shaft, and suspension means for carrying or supporting shaft equipment at least during installation.
By using the solution of the invention, the shaft equipment for an elevator can be installed quickly and reliably. The entire installation work can be carried out in the shaft and from the top and bottom floor landings. No equipment outside the shaft is needed during the installation, and the installation can be carried out without disturbing other construction work and conversely, without other construction work disturbing elevator installation.
One idea of the invention is to install an elevator without any scaffolding in the shaft. Everything will be done from outside on the topmost floor and from the roof of the car. According to the invention the pulley with the rope for the installation hoist is fixed with a stick to a lifting hook in the top of the well while working on the top floor. Similarly fixing the over-speed governor with a special hanger to a fixing point in top of the well.
When installing the complete elevator using the method of the invention, the installation is started at the bottom of the pit and goes upwards using the car as a working platform to install the guide rails. A special hoist is used to drive the car and lift the guide rails.
Further, when the method of the present invention is used also the fixing of the supporters for the plumbing jig when working outside the shaft. Also other tasks of aligning the shaft component is carried out from outside at the topmost floor. such as: aligning and fixing the jig to the supporters, lowering down the plumbing lines, doing all the measurements of the shaft alignment and adjusting the jig with all the plumbing wires at the same time.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, during the installation of the elevator the overspeed governor is at least in the vertical direction so adjusted that it corresponds to the final placement of the overspeed governor and after the elevator installation the overspeed governor is detached from the suspension element and fixed in its final mounting point. An element for supporting the overspeed governor is fitted to a suspension element. Further, in a preferred case, the overspeed governor is mounted on the suspension element and the position at least in the vertical direction is adjusted so that it corresponds to the final position of installation of the overspeed governor and the overspeed governor ropes are adjusted substantially to their final length. The overspeed governor can be utilised during elevator installation and can be easily installed in its final place without readjusting the rope lengths.
The various pieces of shaft equipment, such as guide rails and landing doors and even the elevator drive machine, are transported from the bottom of the shaft to their final place of installation by means of the elevator car. Separate erecting stages are unnecessary and no assembly scaffolds need to be built.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.